It has been rumored a couple of times that Apple is looking to expand its presence in Japan. A new report claims that the country’s NTT DoCoMo carrier might finally start selling the iPhone this fall.

Both Apple and DoCoMo were rumored to be having discussions a few weeks back. The carrier has never offered Apple’s smartphone before to its customers. In Japan, Apple’s carrier partners include KDDI and Softbank. DoCoMo is expected to sell the iPhone at prices comparable to both of those carriers. It warrants mentioning here that the deal hasn’t officially been confirmed as yet by both Apple and DoCoMo.

The Nikkei claims that Apple will announce its latest partnership with DoCoMo on Tuesday, September 10. At that day Apple conducts its media event in California to unveil the two new iPhones it is expected to launch this year. It is believed that DoCoMo will offer both new iPhones in Japan from September 20. Japan is said to be one of the launch markets that will receive the new iPhones on the aforementioned date, other expected markets include China as well. The U.S. and some countries in Europe will definitely be on the list of initial markets.

Apple is also opening up a new retail store in Tokyo, its first in the city since 2006. This, coupled with the rumored partnership with one of Japan’s biggest wireless carriers, goes to show that the company really is trying to push more into the Japanese market.